. . . . . . . News, events, opinions and ideas for the Greylock region. Host: Bill Densmore. (email) Click HERE for documents, texts and additional information. The views here are those of Bill Densmore. This is not a professional journalism service.

June 2008

June 29, 2008

Williamstown, MA (6/26/08) -- The Williamstown Theatre Festival will host a special one-night only reading this Sunday featuring April Yvette Thompson, from the cast of Broke-ology. The reading is free and open to the public.

This Sunday, June 29 at 7:30pm, April Yvette Thompson (The Exonerated, The Antigone Project), who will appear in this summer's Broke-ology by Nathan Louis Jackson (July 9-20), will perform her one woman show, Liberty City, co-written by Jessica Blank (The Exonerated), on the Nikos Stage. Nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show and Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Solo Performance, Liberty City is inspired by April's childhood in 1970s Miami and her family's journey through the end of the Black Power movement. It tells the story of April's Miami: a place shaped by immigrants and islands, by intermarriage and rebellion, by history and struggle and love.

This event is free and open to the public. Reservations are encouraged and can be made by calling 413-597-3400 or by sending an email to: tickets@wtfestival.org. The Williamstown Main Stage and Nikos Stage are located at the '62 Center for Theatre and Dance, 1000 Main St, Williamstown, MA 01267.

Information about and tickets for the rest of the 2008 Williamstown Theatre Festival Season can be obtained by calling 413-597-3400 or by logging on to www.wtfestival.org.

June 28, 2008

NORTH ADAMS, MA – Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) has announced that the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education on Wednesday unanimously approved two new Bachelor of Arts degree programs – in art and in political science and public policy.

According to MCLA Art Professor Gregory Scheckler, the new art major differs from art programs at other state colleges not only because advanced students can design their own pathway through the program, but because of the regional arts scene, which includes Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) and the Clark.

“We started building on this kind of program in the fall of 2000, incrementally increasing our arts courses and offerings until we could support an arts management degree, MCLA Gallery 51 and now the new art degree,” Scheckler said. “The combinations are very exciting because as students learn to master their craft in the art major, they can also learn the best of business savvy in the arts management program by double-majoring or minoring. The art major is an important building block towards the college’s larger goals of creating new programs with unique emphases and possibilities that link with the Berkshires.”

Scheckler said the program will facilitate students to enter careers as creative innovators. Courses will include those in a wide array of media such as drawing, painting, graphic design, photography, film, broadcast communications, computer graphics and costume design.

Robert Bence, MCLA political science professor, said the political science and public policy major will combine liberal arts skills with vocational experience, as well as interaction within the field of public policy.

He said the Berkshires offer many advantages for students of politics and public policies. This includes the revitalization of North Adams and similar public/private collaborations in other parts of Berkshire County which serve as laboratories for students.

Bence expects students in this program will network with officials in government agencies, those in the private sector who create and implement policy, as well as with court officials and elected leaders involved in policy creation and evaluation.

“In this program, students will have a chance to apply their classroom knowledge and skills through internships and real-life applications,” Bence said. “We’ve been looking at a political science major for a long time, but we decided we wanted to provide a unique offering and one that provides a vocational focus. We also believe that adding public policy to political science gives it a unique academic focus.”

MCLA consistently sends interns to Washington, D.C. through the Washington Center and also can provide students with internships in the Canadian House of Commons and overseas study in a variety of nations. For the past several years, MCLA has sent teams of students to the North American Model U.N. in Toronto.

Courses will include those in United States government and public policy, international relations, American history, modern civilization, politics and news media, constitutional law, public administration, macro economics, and social science research.

June 26, 2008

Williamstown, MA - Bring your family and friends, picnics, blankets, and lawn chairs to the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute's expansive south lawn to enjoy the free summer outdoor concert series held on Tuesday evenings at 6 pm in July. The Clark's cafe will sell barbeque fare and the galleries will remain open until 6 pm on concert evenings. In the event of rain, concerts will be held in the auditorium. Concert admission is free.

July 1 - Dixie Cats The Dixie Cats are a good old-fashioned Dixieland band rich with improvised solos. Hear a variety of music from Dixieland favorites, blues, and jazz standards with a New Orleans feel sure to get hands clapping and toes tapping. The Dixie Cats will perform traditional Fourth of July standards in their unique style for this special concert.

July 15 - Bernice Lewis A fixture on the coffeehouse circuit, contemporary-folk radio, and at the major folk festivals, Bernice Lewis-who studied vocal improvisation with Bobby McFerrin, guitar technique with Alex DeGrassi and Guy van Duser, and songwriting with Roseanne Cash and Cris Williamson-has been a featured performer on National Public Radio's "Mountain Stage" program. Her ballad, "Bridges That Hold," was included in the PBS-TV "Lifelines" documentary starring Peter, Paul, and Mary. She has shared the stage with Dar Williams, Dixie Chicks, Patty Griffin, Pete Seeger, Ellis Paul, John Gorka, Rory Block, Livingston Taylor, Odetta, and Christine Lavin.

July 22 - Wintergreen Wintergreen, a folk trio, performs a mixture of traditional and contemporary music from the British Isles and America, along with their own compositions. Their programs feature instrumentals based on dance tunes, intricate three-part vocal harmonies, and a wide variety of folk instruments. Family concerts include many sing-alongs. Among other places, this trio has appeared at the Troy Music Hall, WNYT-TV Albany (NBC), Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, NY, and has performed several concerts in Germany. Wintergreen also plays for contra dances throughout the Northeast.

July 29 - Dan Daniels and Your No Good Buddies Dan Daniels and Your No Good Buddies is a group of Baby Boomers with its roots in the past and branches reaching for the future. Raised on rock and roll, they play a rocking, socially relevant, and tastefully humorous brand of good-time music, for all age groups. What is unique about this band is that they play their own brand of Americana rock. With sounds that are familiar, but songs that are fresh, they're breaking new ground for their generation.

June 25, 2008

Please join us for the opening of The North Adams Artist Co-op Gallery, a member-run gallery showing local & regional fine art and crafts, 107 Main Street, North Adams, MA 01247 - 413.664.8718

Artist Reception: Thursday, June 26th, 6 to 8 PM

Open for the Summer / Fall Season

June 26 through October 31, Thurs – Sun, 11 – 6

The North Adams Co-op Gallery, a member-run art gallery in downtown North Adams, Mass., featuring fine art and craft from local and regional artists, will be opening it’s doors for the first time on Thursday, June 26, 2008. The exhibition of works by 29 artists opens with a public reception offering refreshments, from 6 to 8 PM, part of a DownStreet Art celebration in the downtown area of North Adams. Located at 107 Main Street, the 16 member-artists along with 13 consignment-artists will be exhibiting their works throughout the summer and fall. The exhibition includes painting, printmaking, photography, drawing, ceramics, mixed media, assemblage, sculpture, handmade paper, artist books, textiles and hand-blown glass.

The artists are from North Adams, Adams, Williamstown and Pittsfield, as well as Vermont and New York’s Hudson Valley. Every three weeks throughout the season, the gallery will feature the work of two or three of the member artists in a special display with an opening reception. There are also plans for some artists talks over the course of the four months.

DownStreet Art is a collaboration of the city of North Adams, MCLA, MASS MoCA, the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition and Scarafoni Realty. Three other new galleries on Main and Holden Streets, featuring works of Jarvis Rockwell, the artist's preparing the Sol LeWitt galleries at Mass MoCA, and the installation Lumens: Reconnecting the Adams(es), will also be open for the summer/fall season. In addition to the four galleries, the DownStreet Art initiative has created an art gallery map that includes the location of 18 galleries and museums in the downtown North Adams area. For more information about DownStreet Art or to view a printable arts map, visit www.downstreetart.org.

North Adams, MA - Join us as we kick off DownStreet Art: A Celebration of Art in North Adams
this Thursday, June 26th from 6-9pm. SEVEN new galleries and nearly TWENTY
art destinations. Downtown businesses will join in the festivities by
extending their hours and offering DownStreet Art specials. Come join the
celebration!

Primary Secondary Volumes 1 & 2
Featuring work of 20 of the drafts-people working on the Sol LeWitt
retrospective at MASS MoCA. 28 Holden Street

North Adams Artists Cooperative Gallery
A member-run gallery showing local and regional fine art and crafts. 107 Main Street

MCLA Gallery 51 Annex
Featuring Lumens, an interactive light installation by artists Matthew
Belanger, Sean Riley, and Ven Voisey a project of Networked Realities:
(Re)Connecting the Adamses, a collaboration of Turbulence, Greylock Arts,
and MCLA Gallery 51. See the work in progress and then join us again for
the official opening on July 10th! 65 Main Street

And continue celebrating with some of the participating businesses. Shima,
Crafty Creations, Second Chance will all have extended hours. Shear
Madness will have free eyebrow waxing; Papyri Books will host a sidewalk
chalk project; Moulton's General Store and I Got Goodies will have free
chocolate and fudge samples; Cup & Saucer and The Hub will be offering
DownStreet Art menu specials and Cafe Latino will host the official
after-party.

North Adams, MA - Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' MCLA Gallery 51 presents a multimedia exhibition of new work by North Adams artist Rich Remsberg, to include found and archival footage, photos, sound recordings and more June 26 - July 27, 2008.

The exhibition, "Terms of Surrender," will begin on Thursday, June 26, 6-9 p.m., with an opening reception at the downtown gallery. The event is free and open to the public.

Remsberg is a filmmaker and artist who works primarily with found and archival historical material. The show will represent a cross-section of his work.

For more info: http://www.mcla.edu/Gallery51/2008-2009/Terms_of_Surrender/

June 24, 2008

North Adams, MA - The areas largest display of fireworks will be presented on the evening of July 4, immediately following the North Adams SteepleCats game, at approximately 9:30 PM at Joe Wolfe Field. The evening promises to be a fun-filled family event and the display will be visible from many locations. The city of North Adams is requesting the communitys financial support in order to continue this great tradition by mailing a contribution to P.O. Box 566, North Adams, MA 01247. Contributions are tax-deductible. For information on the display, call 413-664-6180

North Adams, MA - Kolok Gallery, at 121 Union Street presents Wonder: Work in Progress by North Adams & New Orleans-based artist Brandon Graving. Exhibit begins with an artist reception on Saturday, June 28 from 6-8 PM and runs through July 22. Summer Gallery hours are Wednesday through Friday from 12-6 PM, weekends 11  4 PM, and other times by appointment. Call 413-664-7381 or info@kolokgallery.com